The construction industry has shown incredible resilience, if not dynamic growth at times, for the past decade. As the industry has grown, so has the demand for a greater variety and improved quality of construction products and materials. Further, as more relatively untrained individuals are willing to attempt certain building, remodeling or improvement tasks, the demand for greater accessibility to, and enhanced convenience of using these products has also increased.
Tile installation projects are but one example of a construction project that many individuals are willing to attempt with little or no experience or training. While certainly not simple, the average tile project can be completed in a matter of days. Further, the tools and supplies required to do so are readily available for purchase, and in fact, many alternatives are available. For example, there are at least four different types of commercially available grout that may be used to fill the joints between placed tiles, i.e., cement grout, polymer-modified cement grout, two-part polymer grout, and one-part polymer grout.
Of these, one-part polymer grout is the only one that offers the convenience of being available in a pre-mixed state. That is, whereas one-part polymer grout hardens upon drying, the other types of grouts cure upon the addition of water, or in the instance of two-part polymer grout, upon the combination of the two parts. As such, these grouts must be mixed at the time of use and, once mixed, must be used quickly prior to cure. Any unused amounts cannot be reconstituted.
Although one-part polymer grouts thus provide a significant convenience to tile installers, those currently in the marketplace may not be suitable for use in all applications. First, many commercially available one-part polymer grouts are not sufficiently water resistant for use in extremely wet environments, such as e.g., the surfaces of a shower or bathroom or kitchen floors. Even when used in only moderately moist environments, one-part polymer grouts may be susceptible to staining, as may be caused by mold or other microbial infestation or growth, as could certainly occur absent the application of a sealer on top of the hardened grout. However, the application of sealer represents and an additional time requirement, which may be undesirable to those seeking the convenience otherwise offered by one-part polymer grout. Finally, and due at least in part to the fact that these grouts harden though moisture loss, conventional one-part polymer grouts can be susceptible to shrinkage or cracking, further potentially limiting their applicability to drier environments or to uses with tile that does not absorb substantial amounts of water itself, such as porcelain tile.
Desirably, one-part polymer grout compositions would be available that would be suitable for use in a wider variety of applications, i.e., whether horizontal, vertical, load-bearing, moist, wet, etc. Whatever the application, one-part polymer grouts could be improved if they could be provided with stain resistance, advantageously to a degree such that application of a sealer over the applied grout could be avoided.